iiNet heads to High Court

Lawyers representing
iiNet
, the third largest internet service provider in Australia, will head to Canberra before the end of the year for a High Court showdown with some of the biggest movie studios in Hollywood.

A group of 34 applicants has accused the company of sanctioning customers to make unauthorised copies of films using file-sharing software.

In its defence, iiNet has argued that it was unable to act on the studios’ infringement notices.

In a landmark ruling, Federal Court Justice Dennis Cowdroy said that iiNet could not be held responsible because it had no control over the software used to commit the acts of infringement.

Although it upheld that ruling, a full bench led by Federal Court Justice
Arthur Emmett
noted in a February 2011 judgment that ISPs could be responsible for repeat infringements. The High Court will hear the case on December 1.